


Three things Alexander Hamilton hates about Christmas and one thing he loves.

by Snap_crackle_spock (orphan_account)



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Agender Character, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Male Character, Gay Male Character, Genderfluid Character, Hamilton - Freeform, I literally love this ship so much., Lams - Freeform, Lamslamslams, M/M, What has my life become?, all the Lams, it's lafayette, just some gay founding fathers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-10 03:40:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5569480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Snap_crackle_spock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexander Hamilton hates three things about the Christmas season: the weather, the cost, and the lack of family.\</p>
<p>(Kind of four one-shots, kind of more)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Weather

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers, I do hope you enjoy.
> 
> Just so you're aware, I imagine Lafayette to be genderfluid, and will therefor use the pronouns they, them, and theirs. The same applies to Peggy, but replace genderfluid with agender. (Their still referred to as a Schuyler sister, though. For no other reason than the fact that their simply squad af.)

Alexander Hamilton only hated two things more than Thomas Jefferson and one of those things was snow. (The other was Aaron Burr but in his opinion everyone hatted Aaron so it didn’t really count.)

Snow, in the eyes of Alexander, was the weather equivalent to walking into a meat freezer with no less than three fans blowing at full power and nothing on except the smallest of speedos. Every step was like simultaneously stepping barefoot on legos and jumping into a puddle with socks but no shoes. 

In short, he hated it with a passion.

If he had his way, winter break would last the entire season and not just the crumby two weeks they had. That way he could just spend months in he and John’s dorm room under a pile of blankets, drinking cup after cup of coffee and work into the early hours of the morning on whatever writing he wanted to get done. Food, when it was necessary, could just be brought up by his boyfriend from the drugstore down the street.

Okay, maybe John wouldn’t let him get away with staying inside their dorm for an entire season, but letting Alexander stay inside for a measly two weeks? Was that really too much ask for. 

But no. There they were, John practically dragging him to the Dining Hall with a death grip and Alex begrudgingly following along. It had been a long argument to get the smaller man out of the dorm room in the first place, but after John threatened to withhold sex Alex finally got up from his desk chair and set down his pencil, sluggishly beginning to put on layer after layer of outerwear while muttering about the different ways he could probably make John take back that statement within three hours.

“I told Lafayette and the Schuyler's to meet us for lunch.” John said as they waited for the lights above them to change so they could cross the street. Not that they’d be in any real danger if they crossed right then. Most of the students had left the campus for the holiday season so they could spend it with their family. Alexander, having just become old enough to leave the foster system once and for all, didn’t have anywhere to go. John, on the other hand, was supposed to be at his family’s house in South Carolina, and probably would’ve been lounging next to a giant fireplace drinking hot chocolate or something. Except, he wasn’t.

John and his father, Henry, had a rough relationship, to put it kindly. Mr. Laurens was a complete dick, at least that’s what Alexander had gathered from whenever John barged into the room and ranted for nearly an hour every time his father called. 

“He’s completely ignorant!” John had shouted once, just a month ago. “You remember those assholes at the black lives matter rally we went to last week? Those frat boys shouting about how all lives matter? He’s them but to the fifth power! He’s such a goddamn homophobic piece of garbage! Talk about fucking  _ irony _ , am I right?”

They’d gotten into an argument last week when Henry had suggested (read: demanded) that John change his major from biology to political science or something of the sort. And, while Alexander wouldn’t  _ not _ like it if his boyfriend just happened to be taking a few of the same classes as him -he was double majoring in english and polisci- he would never ask John to do something he thoroughly enjoyed. 

It was that fight -along with the countless others leading up to it- that caused John to shout at his father through the phone not to bother with expecting him for Christmas. 

“It’s so nice, this conversation.” John mumbled passively as the light changed and he began dragging Alex again. “You know, you could at least try not to act like an ass. I love you, you know that, but  _ Jesus _ you’re being a real dick about the weather.”

“I love you too, Laurens.” Alexander sped up just enough that he could adjust his grip on his boyfriend’s hand so they were comfortably walking side-by-side. It’s not that he  _ intended _ to be difficult about all of this. He just was in a general bad mood. His American History teacher, Professor Washington, had just sent him an email explaining how he’d chosen Charles fucking Lee over Alexander for the TA position he had open.

“I know.” John smiled, and it made Alexander stupidly happy to see his face light up like that. John had a wonderful smile, one that could make skies clear and flowers grow. It was so kind and so genuine, it made Alex want to kiss each individual freckle on his wonderful face.

“Now that we’ve affirmed our undying love for each other, can we  _ please _ get out of this godawful weather?” Alexander pleaded, to which John gave a soft laugh.

“Okay, baby girl.” He gave his hand a soft swing, causing Alexander’s hand to begin swinging as well. And, for the first time since he stepped outside of the dorm building, Alexander wished that he didn’t have his thick gloves on. It would make the whole hand-holding thing a lot easier. 

And finally they made it to the dining hall. Alexander loved the room, every bit of it. Growing up hopping from foster home to foster home, he rarely was treated to a hot meal, let alone one daily. And John knew how much he loved the food here, even if the southerner didn’t replicate the joy that came from it.  _ Whatever, _ Alexander thought as he let go of John’s hand so that his boyfriend could go greet the others at their usual table,  _ he had meals on demand growing up.  _

Once he’d piled his tray high with anything he found remotely enticing, along with a few things for John, he began heading to the booth in one of the corners of the hall. It was round, as that was the only one that would fit all of their group. 

The Schuyler sisters were crowded together, each dressed in their respective color. At the beginning of break, the three of them had John, Alex, Lafayette, and Hercules over for a small going away party. One game of truth or dare later, each of them were subjected to wearing only one color until New Years. 

Lafayette was absent, though Alexander suspected they’d be there any moment. They had a tendency to run just under five minutes late to any and all events unless they’d organized it. 

“Hello, Alexander.” Angelica greeted, looking up from her salad to John, who was sitting next to her. “I see you finally managed to drive him out of the dorm room, Laurens. What’d you have to do? Threaten to break all of his pencils?” She smiled a bit before jamming her fork back into her salad. She was still a bit angry at Alex for a near-hook up with Eliza that happened before he and John had started dating, and she’d told him that much. 

“Angelica,” John laughed and grabbed an apple off of Alex’s tray, “it’s always a delight to see you.” She smiled fully at that. Alexander didn’t see how she couldn’t, his laugh was contagious. “You aren’t wrong, though. It took a lot of work to get this idiot out of the dorms. If he had his way he’d still be in there, scratching away at one of his hundreds of journals.”

“The cold is evil.” Alexander declared. “You guys are used to this sort of shitty weather. I grew up in the Caribbean. The closest it ever got to this temperature was when I took some of the younger kids in my town to watch Frozen a year after it came out. So shut up.”


	2. Cost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander enlightens us on just how poor he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'I'll try to get the rest of the chapters up by the end of the week' she said. Yeah no, sorry. And I understand that at this point it's a little late for a holiday themed story but you know what? I'm just going to declare that it's Christmas all year long.
> 
> Also, in this chapter it mentions that Hamilton loves Eliza, THIS IS A PLATONIC THING. I mean, how could you not love her? But when he mentions that he loves her, he means it in the bro-iest of ways.

 Alexander was a lot of things. A bastard, orphan, so of a whore and a Scotsman just to name a few. But if there was one thing that he 100% wasn't, it was wealthy. He got into college because of one the best scholarships in the history of Kings College, not because he had any sort of money to his name. What little emergency cash he  _did_ have was the little he made from doing some writing for some of the lesser known newspapers in the area.

So when Christmas rolled around, he was completely unprepared for the holiday. It didn't help that the entire thing snuck up behind him, totally out of left field. Up until the 23rd of December he'd been fully wrapped in doing a lengthy paper for Washington, explaining in extreme detail on why Charles Lee was an incompetent coward and fool who, if he had even a single brain cell, wouldn't be using whatever spare time he had to aid the professor, but to more likely spend his time preaching about how immigrants were the one true enemy of America and were stealing every entitled person's job, which was a piece of irony in itself, seeing as that was the exact opposite of what had happened. 

No, up until late in that afternoon, when John had  ~~asked~~ demanded that Alexander get off of their shared laptop so that he could check on some packages he'd ordered to ensure that they'd be there by the 25th. It was then when he realized that  _oh shit, I completely forgot that Christmas was a thing_. Growing up in the foster system from the age of 13, he was rarely even in a home during the Christmas season. And when he was, the most expensive gift he'd ever received was a half decent pair of socks. 

So Christmas shopping was never too high on his to-do list in winter. But now he had friends, he had  _John_ , to treat to something special. There were a handful of things he knew for a fact he could manage to do (Eliza was in the campus' sewing circle, she spoke highly of it, and he could probably cash in a favor for a nice pattern for Hercules, he was at a book fair the other week and had gotten a free copy of a biography of Gloria Steinem for Angelica, he was good friends with theater department on campus and could probably convince them to get Peggy and Lafayette -both total closet theater nerds- a viewing of their final dress rehearsal for performance of In the Heights, etc.) but there were two people that Alexander most certainly wanted to get something a little more heartfelt for: Eliza and John. 

The two of them were, hands down, the most important people in Alexander's life. So cashing in on favors and basically regifting things for them just didn't feel right. Eliza was easy, she'd told him time and time again how she'd had her eyes on this  _one_ candle from Bath and Bodyworks that apparently burned for the longest time (a strange request, in Alexander's opinion) but John was difficult. What do you present the person you want to give the world but can't even afford a half decent dinner for? 

So Alexander did the only logical thing he could think to do under the circumstances, he called up the person he loved second most in the world. 

 

* * *

 

 

"You don't have a gift for him yet, Alexander?" Eliza half shouted, seated begrudgingly on Alex's bed (John was out, running some errands with Hercules.) For someone who looked like she could be just about as angry as a small rabbit, she was positively furious. When he later asked her, she'd explained that Christmas was her favorite holiday. She'd grown up with a large family, and she took careful measures to pick the perfect gift for each and every person. 

He fell in love her a little bit more in that moment. Eliza Schuyler, the most precious person he'd ever met, was the epitome of the human race. He decided, then and there, that there should be more Eliza Schuylers in the world

"Alexander," She sighed, head falling heavily into her hands which were propped onto her knees, "I cannot believe you! I cannot wrap my head around the fact that, not only did you forget about Christmas, but the only last-minute present that you haven't figured out yet is your boyfriend's! What in the world is your excuse? That wasn't a rhetorical question, Alexander. I want to hear what possibly was so important that you didn't realize that it was two days until one of America's biggest holidays!"

All Alexander could do was blush sheepishly. Maybe bringing in Eliza to help him with this wasn't the smartest idea. She was a generally good person, who couldn't bear the thought of not having a perfect present for everyone. Angelica wouldn't have been much more help, though. She would just beret him about how stupid he'd been for forgetting. Peggy and Alex weren't the closest of people, he had no classes with them and never saw them without their sisters. Lafayette would've been one of the better choices, but they'd probably spit out too many ideas to decide on one without becoming caught up in the theory of another one. Herculese would've been optimal, thoughtful, decisive, and least likely to make fun of Alexander for forgetting, but he wasn't getting back to campus for another day.

On second thought, maybe Eliza was just the person to call up.

"Liza," Alexander groaned and stood up to begin pacing the small length of he and John's room, a nervous habit of his, "I don't know. I just don't know! I had this thing I was writing for Washington because he made the wrong decision with the whole TA thing, because  _clearly_ he's a racist, homophobic prick. And then I was also doing a piece for the paper on the pay gap between women of color and men of color. Not to mention all this reading I had to do for my stupid Substantive Criminal Law course. And it's just so much."

"Well," Eliza said evenly, a kind expression washing over her face, "you clearly are good at something.  _Writing_ , Alexander. If you're having so much trouble trying to figure out what to buy John, don't. Don't buy him anything. Writing costs you all of nothing, and you're clearly not half bad at it. So just write him something heartfelt. Something that can rival any of the presents you're getting for the rest of us." She gathered her things with that, and stood to take her leave. "Oh?" She asked as she was about to shut the door, "And Alexander? I expect that candle wrapped nicely."

Alexander, giddy with the words already running though his head, grabbed the laptop from John's bed and opened a new Word document, and began typing.

 


	3. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander wonders about what family really means.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Second to last chapter! I swear I had this idea before Christmas! And now look where I am, three days after New Years and still not done. Oh well.

Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy must’ve been literal saints. Alexander couldn’t come up with any other reason that they’d invite so many people over for a Christmas Eve party. He concluded that they were definity saints when he noticed just who they’d invited.

Thomas Jefferson, James Madison,  _ and _ Aaron Burr? Honestly, he wasn’t even aware that any of the Schuyler’s knew them.

“Hey, baby girl, it’ll be fine.” John promised Alexander. They were sitting on the couch in the living room of the Schuyler’s apartment. That room, alone, was nearly twice as big as he and John’s entire dorm room. When Alexander had asked Angelica about it, she’d explained that their father had payed for it so the sisters didn’t need to be split up for their years of college. “It’s just Thomas Jefferson and his little henchmen. You have to see them every Wednesday and Friday in class anyway? What’s one more night?”

“I don’t give a damn about how many times I’m forced to see them when classes are going on, it’s break and I’m supposed to be surrounded by people I love, not arrogant assholes that probably don’t even know the difference between Ace and Aro.”

“Weren’t you and Burr friends when you first got here? I thought that the two of you were working on a debate club thing together.”

“We  _ were _ friends, more or less. But then he tried to shoot me with that staple gun!”

“Alexander I was there with you when that happened and your hand was just in an unfortunate position on that poster.”

“Whose side are you on!”

“ _ Alexander! _ ” John whined and tugged on Alex’s green hoodie. “It’s Christmas! Can we stop arguing and just have a nice evening with our friends?”

“Okay.” Alexander finally agreed, taking John’s hand in his. “Okay fine. Nice Christmas, friends, gift exchange.” His face fell for a moment. “But, Laurens I swear to God, if you so much as  _ try _ to make me eat any of his shitty mac ‘n cheese I will never speak to you again.

John broke into a smile, that smile that could make soldiers set down their weapons and oceans to run dry, the smile that Alexander loved so much. “Okay, Hamilton. No mac ‘n cheese, and no fighting with Burr, Madison, and Jefferson on Christmas.”

“Define figh-”

“Hello boys!” Eliza appeared from behind them, her mint colored santa hat flopping very nicely to the side. Alexander suspected the sisters had them customly made, because Angelica and Peggy each had their own in their own colors. “How are you two doing on this fine Christmas Eve?”

“Very well, thank you for asking, Eliza.” John slid over a little bit, allowing a little bit more room between him and the sofa arm. “Why don’t you take a seat? We can convince this living embodiment of the phrase ‘fight me’ why arguing with Thomas on Christmas is the wrong decision.”

“Hey, John, would you look at that?” Alexander twisted his head to look at the kitchen, it’s saloon style doors swinging on their hinges. “It’s time for me to leave the conversation and get something to eat.” Before his boyfriend had the slightest chance to respond her was already halfway to the kitchen. “Okay, love you, babe. I’ll get something for you to eat while I’m in there because I’m so considerate.”

With that, he pushed open the doors to see a beautiful ocean of unhealthiness. The Schuylers, when inviting people, had requested that everyone bring something large enough in quantity to feed everyone attending. John and Alexander had arrived with three large tubs of cookie dough, the second of which was already nearly empty. Lafayette had come with two bottles of wine, one red and one white, and Hercules had provided bags of every type of chip you could imagine.

The foursome had arrived before the trio of idiots, so Alexander could only assume that the gingerbread cookies and sodas were from them. Everything else -eggnog, candy canes, a couple pizzas, and peppermint bark- was provided by the Schuyler sisters. And there, right in the middle of the table of food, was Thomas Jefferson’s goddamn macaroni and cheese. Alexander wanted to gag just at the sight.

“Oh, Alexander, hi.” Madison said, turning around from his task of pouring some eggnog into a cup. “Have you tried the cookie dough? It’s pretty good.”

Honestly, Alexander didn’t have much against James. Most of the problems he had with the man were because of Jefferson, who James followed unquestioningly. If anything, Alexander would’ve liked to be friends with him, if not for the loyalty to Thomas.

“Thanks, James. John and I actually brought it with us.”

“Alexander!” The saloon doors burst open, letting Alex’s least favorite person in the apartment step forward.

“Aaron Burr, sir.” Alexander turned to greet Burr with his usual saying. It’s started as a joke between the two men, and now Alex smiled every time he saw Burr roll his eyes at the greeting. “I didn’t know that you knew the Schuyler sisters.”

“I met them while we were all downtown last week. I noticed Eliza because she always seems to be talking to you and Laurens. As it turns, Angelica and I have two classes together, we’ve just never noticed one another.”

“What a strange coincidence.” Alexander said through a fake smile before turning to load up his plate with food for him and John. He heard the doors shutting behind him, which he took as a sign of the two men leaving.

Alexander Hamilton was never the biggest fan of Christmas. To him, it was always a cheap way to promote family bonding, which he never got a chance to do. After the hurricane destroyed his home in the Caribbean, killing his mother, and then his father left because he couldn’t support his son, he’d never lived in a house long enough to call it a family. 

He’d never lived in a house for more than a year.

_ But that’s not what family is, is it?  _ He thought to himself as he exited the kitchen, a plate stacked high with food in one hand and a large cup of coke in the other, and made his way back over to John.  _ Family isn’t about a roof over your head. It’s not about the people who raised you. _

He took a seat next to John, who took the cup from his hand immediately and raised it to his lips for a sip. Peggy, Angelica, Lafayette, and Hercules had migrated over to join John and Eliza with chairs pulled around the sofa, along with room for more in case Thomas, James, and Aaron decided to join them in conversation.

_ No, family isn’t about any of that bullshit. Family is the people who see you at your lowest and stick around. They’re the people who love you in their own way, who wouldn’t care if you got them absolutely terrible gifts for Christmas, because they know that it’s the best you could do. _

Alexander leaned over his plate to give John a kiss then. Nothing long or extreme, just a small thing that didn’t even last a second. And, yet, it still sent a pink blush running up his boyfriend’s cheeks, which made it all worthwhile.

_ Family isn’t the people who just stick around. It’s the people who love you. _

And then he looked over at Eliza, who was laughing at something one of her sisters had said. Angelica, Peggy, and Eliza were standing together, their matching Santa hats all getting a faint orange glow from the fireplace that was crackling behind them. 

_ And family might mean be people that are of your blood, but it’s not just that. It’s the people that you have a bond with that reaches beyond that. _

He looked at Hercules and Lafayette, the two men sitting in chairs and listening to John tell a story about the time that he and Alexander were at a LGBTQ+ pride rally and someone accused Alexander, who’d painted his face the colors of the bisexual flag, straight and just searching for attention. To top it off, this was while he and John were kissing. (John had punched him after the idiot had said it for the fifth time.) (Alexander had laughed so hard that he barely had time to duck when the idiot’s friends tried to take a swing at him.)

_ And family can be friends, the people who stay in the room even after everyone else had left because you were talking about something that you believed in, even though it took nearly half an hour to finish the speech. _

And then he looked over at Thomas, James, and Aaron, all of whom were moving to join the rest of the party attendants. Thomas had a large bowl cradled to his chest, which Alexander could only assume was filled with his awful mac ‘n cheese. And Alexander would’ve commented on it if Thomas hadn’t immediately went to stand in between Angelica and Peggy, laughing at the joke that Eliza was telling with the other two. 

And he would’ve been mad that Aaron had even bothered to show up, if he and James hadn’t simply sat on the ground next to Hercules and Lafayette, Madison offering a gingerbread cookie to Alexander’s two friends.

_ And family isn’t always people that you like. It’s more like people you couldn’t live without. No matter how terrible their mac ‘n cheese is. _

There was a slight squeeze on his hand, and he looked up to see John’s green eyes blinking right at him. “Earth to Alexander!” His boyfriend laughed and shifted so that he was leaning on Alexander. “I’ve been asking you for the past minute to back me up on that story.”

“I love you.” Alexander said, twisting a finger around a strand of John’s hair idly. “Just so you know.”

“I love you too.” John sighed contently, letting his eyes droop shut. “But that’s not what I asked you to say.”

Before Alexander could respond, Eliza stood up and tapped her wine glass with the spoon she was using to eat the cookie dough on her plate. “Okay everyone! Circle up, it’s present time!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done! The next chapter will pick up right where this one leaves off, so look forward to that and check back soon!


	4. John Laurens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander revels in his love for his most affectionate Laurens. Also: Christmas presents!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The final chapter in a story that should've been finished a month ago! For all of you who stuck with me, even though it's no longer the Christmas season, thank you. I hope you enjoy!

The group circled, Alexander and John staying on the couch; James, Thomas, and Burr claiming the one it paralleled; the Schuyler sisters squishing together to sit on the loveseat in between the two; and Hercules and Lafayette remaining in their chairs. 

“I wasn’t aware we were bringing gifts for everyone.” Burr said from his place across the room, to which Jefferson and Madison nodded along to.

“That’s okay, boys.” Hamilton called, toeing his shoes off his feet before kicking them onto the other end of the couch. “I didn’t get you guys anything. But, then again, I probably wouldn’t have even if I knew you were going to show up.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth there was a pinch on his arm which he could only assume was delivered by John. 

“Don’t be a dick.” His boyfriend whispered into his ear. “Or you’re not getting a Christmas present from me.”

“Can I go first?” Peggy asked from her place. They had a few boxes stacked at their feet. When nobody argued, they bent down to pick them up. “Angie, this one’s for you. And Eliza, this one’s for you.” The two sisters pulled the lids off of their boxes, neither any larger than a phone. Simultaneously, the two girls lifted matching silver bracelets out of the boxes. 

“Peggy!” Eliza squealed and hugged them, her face overflowing with joy. The happiness of her must’ve radiated, because as she grinned, Alexander couldn’t help but smile. “These are gorgeous!” Angelica grinned her thanks before Peggy turned to the rest of the group.”

“And, for the rest of you, I ordered this hot chocolate from Belgium. It’s really something else.” They lifted up a basket, filled with packages of the powder and passed it around the circle, everyone taking one.

“My turn!” Eliza clapped and lifted a basket, similar to the one Peggy had used, only larger, and tilted it to show the content. A pile of knit scarves sat there, each a different set of colors. “I just started, so they’re not the best, but I thought that the thought behind it was enough. Anyway I’ll hand them out after we’re done!”

Alexander smiled at her, happy with the well intentioned sister. She was a rare being, someone who was so genuinely good. He loved it.

“I guess I’ll go, then.” Angelica shrugged and picked up a large envelope at her side. “So I know they’re in black and white, but I thought that they’d probably be the nicest thing in some of you guys’ dorm rooms.” She looked directly at Alexander with the final statement as she pulled out a set of nine photographs, all just over the size of a polaroid. With huff she stood and began handing them out to everyone. When Alexander received his -last- he couldn’t help but smile at the image. It was a photograph, one of him and John taken last spring break, when the Schuylers had invited them, Hercules, and Lafayette to join them for the week at their beach home in the Hamptons. The two men were in a hammock, and Alexander remembered the time fondly.

It’d been midday when the photo was taken. He remembered clearly being more at home there than he’d been anywhere since immigrating to the States. John and him had been up late for a midnight skinny dip in the ocean and John had been positively exhausted the day after. He’d fallen asleep curled against Alexander as he rocked the hammock with his foot and watched the ocean lapping at the shore. It was a quiet familiarity that he was so taken by that he nearly shrieked when he heard the camera shutter go off.

He looked over at the one that John had received and almost wished he’d gotten that one instead. (Almost.) That one was a lovely picture because it captured John when he was most passionate, when he was in action. The image was from a rally -Alexander couldn’t remember which one, they’d gone to so many- and was of him, John, Lafayette, and Hercules. It was almost as if they’d staged it, they were filed behind one another so cleanly. John was closest to the camera, holding a sign up in the air high enough that the words were cut out of the frame. Hercules was holding a poster in a similar manner, and the only word Alexander could read was ‘FREE.’ Each of them were yelling, seemingly all at the same person or thing.

“You look beautiful in that.” Alexander whispered to John, who grinned before looking to see the picture in Alex’s hand.

“ _ We _ look great in that.”

“If you two would shut up, I’m delivering presents.” Lafayette announced before opening up the small red sack they had. “For the sisters.” They produced three flower crowns; one light green, one yellow, and one red. “For the happy couple.” They threw two t-shirts at Alexander and John. When the two men unfolded them, Alexander was torn between groaning and laughing. They were those stupid couple shirts, ones that you see people at Disney wearing. Alexander’s read ‘if found: return to John.’ and John’s read: ‘keep him.’ When John flipped it around, the words ‘no, seriously.’ were read. After setting them down, Lafayette continued. “For Hercules.” A few yards of blue fabric, fabric that looked rather expensive. “And, because I come prepared.” They tossed three chocolate bars, one for Burr, one for Jefferson, and one for Madison.

“Thank you, asshole.” Alexander called to Lafayette, though he was thoroughly pleased with what he’d received from them. 

“I suppose it’s my turn.” Hercules sighed and took out a cardboard box, which he opened up and reached into. “Lafayette,” a neatly folded jacket that seemed to be made out of a heavy cream colored material. “Laurens,” a navy peacoat that rivaled the tailoring of a professional. “Hamilton,” A dark green blazer that had a slight shine to it. “Angelica,” a full skirt in the color pink, “Eliza,” a mint colored summer dress, “And Peggy,” a light yellow blouse. “And, because I actually think to ask on who’s attending parties, I made something for you boys as well.” He passed out three more clothing articles. A long, crimson colored trench to Jefferson. For Madison, a slightly shorter version of Alexander’s blazer, but in the color gray. And, finally, for Burr: a black, formal jacket.

“These are beautiful, Hercules.” Eliza gushed as she held up her dress, swishing it in her hands to watch the skirt twirl. “And I can’t  _ wait _ until it’s warm enough to wear these.”

“You’ve got a gift, Mulligan.” Thomas admitted, inspecting the work on the sleeves. Even Alexander had to admit that the trench coat was nice, something he wouldn’t wear but he’d definitely envy. 

“Here I go.” John whispered to Alexander before standing up, taking out his paper bag filled with goodies that he hadn’t let Alexander even come near. “Okay let’s see. I’ve got something for the Schuylers.” He pulled out three slim, black boxes. After he distributed them to them, they each popped open the cases, observing the contents. Angelica was the first to show off the gift, which were a pair of sunglasses for each one of them, all in their respective colors.

“For Lafayette, I’ve got that goddamn tea you would not  _ shut up _ about. Speaking of which, do you know how many hoops I had to jump through to get this for you? I had to call up my buddy from England so he could buy and then ship you these and your fucking  _ Maltesers _ . But, you know what, sure. Merry Christmas.” He handed the European treats to Lafayette, who clapped eagerly before grabbing the box of teabags and the candies from John, who simply rolled his eyes.

“Okay, Hercules, I’ve got some fun stuff for you. Let’s see, we’ve got the original Star Wars trilogy and a few spools of thread.” He pulled out the boxed set and then the thread. He must’ve coordinated with Lafayette, because the thread was the exact same color as the fabric they’d gotten him. 

“Okay, Thomas, James, Aaron, I wasn’t aware that they were letting asses into the party, so I didn’t have any time to get something nice. But I got a text from Angelica this afternoon so I managed to run to the drugstore down the street from Alexander and I’s dorm and got,” He reached into his bag, “wait for it, that’s right,  _ snuggies. _ Uh-huh, I didn’t think they still made these either. But, Jefferson, I saw this zebra print one and all I could think of was you.”

Alexander had to repress a laugh. 

When the abominations had been handed out (John, true to his word, had gotten a zebra print one for Thomas in the heinous colors of green and yellow. That wasn’t the worst one, either. The hot pink and light blue cheetah print one Burr received made Alexander almost feel bad for him. Almost. Admittedly, James had gotten off easy, getting a red and white striped one that vaguely resembled a candy cane.) John sat back down on the couch, looking rather pleased with himself. Alexander was certainly pleased. 

John was, without a doubt, just about 75% of Alex’s impulse control (Eliza was the other 25) but people seemed to look past the fact that his temper was just as bad, if not worse than Alexander’s. So when he did let loose, it was always hilarious to see the outcome. Because he always seemed to know just what to say or do to make the people he was opposing shrink into themselves and think about their actions.

“And, Alexander,” He pulled the bag onto his lap, lifting the final gift out for Alexander. “This one’s for you.” It was beautiful. A sleek, silver laptop that Alexander was fully prepared to cry over. It must’ve cost John a small fortune -Alexander had checked the prices online himself- and he suddenly felt completely insignificant. In a way, John was cheating him. He constantly complained when Alexander would beg him for hours on end to use their shared laptop to write whatever it was he was planning, even though ‘ _ Alexander! _ I’m halfway through the season and you want me to stop now?’ So, in a way, it was a present for John from John, not that Alexander was complaining. 

_ My own laptop _ . He thought, excitement running through his veins as he cautiously reached out to take it, half expecting to drop it on the wooden floor and watch it shatter into a million peices. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t going to miss the small comfort of sharing a laptop with John. It was a nice thing, in his opinion. But now he had privacy. Now he had enough storage to save  _ thousands _ of essays. Which, granted, was probably a weird thing to be internally hyperventilating about, but so what?

“John,” Alexander mumbled, for once at a loss of words. He honestly didn’t know what to say, there were so many things he wanted to do. He wanted to scream with joy, because a whoop or a hollar wouldn’t do it. He wanted to kiss John with all the force in the world, because anything less would be insignificant in Alexander’s eyes. He wanted to write novels for each and every one of the freckles on John’s face, because that was the only way he could have enough words to explain what he was feeling.

“I know.” John nodded. And he did. He knew Alexander like he knew his own mind. He knew the way Alex worked, all the weird little things he did because he thought there was no other way he would ever be the best. He knew when it was okay to push a little bit, to shove Alexander outside for some fresh air or snatch the pen from his pen so that he was forced to get up and grab something to eat. But he also knew when he needed to back down, when Alexander was to in the zone to do anything but write and write and write, as if he were running out of time.

“Save it for the bedroom!” Lafayette shouted from their seat, the box of Maltesers open at their feet which Alexander saw Hercules sneaking a few candies out of. “Hamilton, we’re still waiting for your presents!”

“Okay, Lafayette. Since you’re  _ so  _ eager for your present here.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his bag, a black squiggle right in the middle. “Just so you know, I had to stake outside the stage door for, like, and hour to get this. And I still nearly had to fight this old lady who did  _ not _ know the meaning of personal space.” It was an autograph from one of the actors in the new musical in the city, right by Times Square. Something about historical rapping that Alexander hadn’t bothered to learn the details of. All he did was look up the theater on Google Maps and grumble about the stupid weather.

“You are the best.” Lafayette sighed, clutching the paper to their chest.

“Peggy?” The youngest Schuyler looked up, “I’ve got a backstage tour set up for you in the theater on campus for next week on Friday, three sharp. When you get to the box office, just ask for John Jay, he’ll know what to do.”

“Angelica.” He picked up the biography from the small pile of things at his feet and tossed it casually to her. 

“Hey, idiot?” She asked and held up the book. “I was with you at the book fair you got this from.” She looked at the cover for a moment, deep in thought. “But, thank you Alexander. I guess the thought was nice.”

“Moving on.” Alexander said, eager to get away from that awkward experience. Okay, so that didn’t go quite as he’d expected. Oh well. He got tickets for an art show that he was planning on surprising John with -some pretentious dick named King George was handing them outside of one of his classes- but maybe he could part with them so Angelica could see some nice photography. “Okay, Hercules.”

He passed out his patterns, which he personally thought were pretty funny. Revolutionary War soldier outfits for the Revolutionary Crew, right? 

“And Eliza, the best of women.” He grinned, manually taking the candle over to her, watching her clap her hands with a grin spreading on her face in anticipation. He didn’t even know why he bothered with wrapping paper, she clearly knew what she was getting. It didn’t matter, though, because the smile on her face when she tore off the gift wrap made the entire half hour he spent trying to figure out how to wrap a cylinder worthwhile.

“And, my dearest Laurens.” Alexander produced a heavy envelope, one of the nicest things he’d ever bought. It was made out of the nice paper, the stuff that had caused Alexander to look like a complete imbecile while buying because he just couldn’t stop running his hand over it. The ink he’d used to write to the letter and John’s name on the envelope had been done with a fountain pen, a present from John on Alexander’s birthday last year, before they were dating.

John didn’t open the envelope right there, which Alexander was glad for. The letter was personal, something he wanted John and only John to read. 

He’d spent an entire day in the library, music blasting in his cheap earbuds to distract him from the real world, and wrote the lengthy thing. He’d used one of the library computers to write the drafts, then copied his final -number 51- paper onto the expensive paper with meticulous detail. It took him forever, and he still was worried that it sounded rushed.

“Well,” Angelica clapped her hands, drawing the attention back to her, “We were planning on putting on some Christmas movies if any of you would like to join us in here for the Grinch. If not, you all know where the snacks are. We’ll start kicking you out at one.”

“Merry Christmas, Alexander.” John whispered affectionately to Alexander, placing a small kiss high on his cheek.

“Merry Christmas, John.”

  
  


_ I wish, my dear Laurens, it might be in my power, by action rather than words, to convince you that I love you. From the moment I met you until the moment I must bid you adieu, I have and will continue to strive towards such a goal. Every moment I spend with you is glorious, every kiss: perfect. Your love is something I wish to never forfeit. _

_ I would hope to remain in your company for the rest of my life, with the both of us growing old with one another, moving to a home far enough away that we’d never need to worry about petty things like your father bothering us. I imagine a future with you so vividly, that one with any other person would simply not be on the same plain. _

_ Without you, my life is bleak. It is seen in shades of gray and black, opposed to the vivid colors I come to realize with your company. _

_ There is not a day that goes by that I do not cherish our relationship wholeheartedly. And I realize that sometimes I may not show my love, know that it is always there. Thoughts of you consume my mind day and night, and I wish for them to never vacate the premises of my head and heart. _

_ John Laurens, to put it simply, there are very few things in the world that I value. And no things I value more than you and your love. _

_ With love,  _

_ A. Ham. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! The end! Anyway, I'm very satisfied with the way this wrapped up. I hope that you all enjoyed. I already have my plans for the next story. If you're interested: a fake dating!AU taking place in a similar but not-the-same universe. I'll try to get started on that right away. Until then, thank you for all of your views, kudos, and comments.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I do hope you enjoyed. I'm thoroughly excited to have this up, it's both my first work for Lams and on AO3. (I've written on other websites, so I'm not a total noob) Anyway, I hope you enjoy and I'll try to get all of this up in the next week.


End file.
